The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-09-29
Improve the Streets.

The season is now at hand when improve
ments can be made in this city without being
hampered by the peculiar regulations of
our sanitary system. II any public or pri-
waite improvements are in contemplation,
now is the time to get them into shape.
There is one question of public interest
! that the people are unanimous upon, and
that is the necessity of better thoroughfares.
| Some well devised system of paving the
streets should be speedily settled upon to
meet this popular demand
But few people in Savannah keep vehicles
for their private use, because there is no
pleasure in sitting in carriage drawn by
straining horses through deep wastes of
sand 1t is the very opposite of pleasant;
it is painful. For this reason our people
prefer dependence on street. cars Or
the few public vehicles But If
the streets were properly paved there would
be large increase in the number of horses
and carriages kept by our citizens for their
own pleasure, and thus the revenues of the
city would benefit by the addition of con-
siderable amount of property subject to
taxation at a high rate.
The MORNING NEWS has SO often re-
ferred to the subject of street paving, that
in recurring to it again it runs a risk of be-
ing tedious. It's excuse is the Importance
it attaches to the subject. 1t was the MORN
ING NEWS which suggested the widening of
sidewalks, that the sand area of the streets
might be reduced. The plan was accepted,
and years ago an ordinance to carry it into
effect was passed by the City Council.
Where the plan has been tried, it has done
much good.
The MORNING NEWS also advocated the
Broughton street asphalt pavement, and
after very tough fight had the pleasure of
seeing that street paved for a part of its
length. That the result has justified its
advocacy of the project will hardly be denied
by any one.
Some weeks ago it was suggested, as
means of lessening the sand area, and there
fore the cost of paving that grass plats be
made on the sides or in the middle of GER
tain streets. This plan has been adopted
with great success in some of
the Northern and Western cities,
and we might profit by their experience.
The streets of no city in the Union are bet
ter adapted to such a plan of improvement
than those of Savannah, and if it is carried
into effect intelligently it will change dis
figuring wastes of sand to trim lawns
of grass that will add greatly to the city's
beauty and attractiveness.
What is wanted is system of paving
that will be complete and which at the
same time will not bear too heavily on tax
able values, and the plan above referred to
seems to meet those conditions
Alderman Thomas has the confidence of
the community, and has done well as far as
he has gone; but he is capable of doing
great deal more, and the people want him to
co it. He and his colleagues need not hest
tate in the matter of public improvements,
especially in the matter of lettering our
thoroughfares, of which every citizen sees
the necessity. There will be but little if
any objection, from any quarter, to wise ex-
penditures to that end.
Making the city attractive in appearance
and comfortable to live in is the best way
to add to its material wealth, by increasing
its population, The people who would be
attracted to Savannah by the kind of i'm
provements suggested would be of the very
class which would add most to the prosper
ity of people already here-namely, people
of means, accustomed to the comforts and
conveniencies of Northern cities who de-
sire to escape the rigors of the winters of
that region